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Thursday, September 7, 2017

CASTING IN PLACE FOR "ALADDIN," THE LIVE-ACTION ADAPTATION DIRECTED BY GUY RITCHIE

BURBANK, Calif. (September 6, 2017) – Casting for “Aladdin,” the live-action adaptation of the studio’s animated classic, is complete and production is currently underway at Longcross Studios outside London.

The “Aladdin” cast includes: Two-time Oscar® nominee Will Smith (“Ali,” “Men in Black”) as the Genie who has the power to grant three wishes to whoever possesses his magic lamp; Mena Massoud (Amazon’s “Jack Ryan”) as Aladdin, the hapless but lovable street rat who is smitten with the Sultan’s daughter; Naomi Scott (“Power Rangers”) as Princess Jasmine, the Sultan’s beautiful daughter who wants to have a say in how she lives her life; Marwan Kenzari (“Murder on the Orient Express”) as Jafar, an evil sorcerer who devises a nefarious plot to unseat the Sultan and rule Agrabah himself; Navid Negahban (“Homeland”) as the Sultan, the ruler of Agrabah who is eager to find a proper husband for his daughter, Jasmine; Nasim Pedrad (“SaturdayNight Live”) as Dalia, Princess Jasmine’s hand maiden and confidante; Billy Magnussen (“Into the Woods”) as Prince Anders, a suitor from Skanland and potential husband for Princess Jasmine; and Numan Acar (“Homeland”) as Hakim, Jafar’s right-hand man and head of the palace guards.

“Aladdin” is directed by Guy Ritchie (“Sherlock Holmes,” “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.”) from a screenplay by John August (“Dark Shadows,” “Big Fish”) based on the 1992 animated film “Aladdin” and stories from “One Thousand and One Nights.” The producer is Dan Lin (“The LEGO Movie”) with Golden Globe® winner Marc Platt (“La La Land”), Jonathan Eirich (“Deathnote“) and Kevin De La Noy (“The Dark Knight Rises”) serving as executive producers. Eight-time Academy Award®-winning composer Alan Menken (“Beauty and the Beast,” “The Little Mermaid”) provides the score, which includes new recordings of the original songs written by Menken and Oscar®-winning lyricists Howard Ashman (“Little Shop of Horrors”) and Tim Rice (“The Lion King”) as well as two new songs written by Menken and Oscar® and Tony Award®-winning songwriters Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (“La La Land,” “Dear Evan Hansen”).

About Walt Disney Studios:

For over 90 years, The Walt Disney Studios has been the foundation on which The Walt Disney Company was built. Today, the Studio brings quality movies, music and stage plays to consumers throughout the world. Feature films are released under the following banners: Disney, including Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar Animation Studios; Disneynature; Marvel Studios; and Lucasfilm. The Disney Music Group encompasses the Walt Disney Records and Hollywood Records labels, as well as Disney Music Publishing. The Disney Theatrical Group produces and licenses live events, including Disney on Broadway, Disney On Ice and Disney Live!.